A Career with Caring at its Heart

Seven years ago, Susan Payne’s career soared in a rewarding new direction.
A former administrative assistant, she signed up for Valley Health’s
Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) Training Program at Warren Memorial Hospital
in Front Royal. “I knew the course would give me the skills to get
a new job, but it gave me so much more,” says Payne, 64, now a nurse
aide at Winchester Medical Center. “Working as a CNA is my way of
giving back for the wonderful hospice care my sister received before her
death from cancer in 2010. Being a certified nurse aide has been an invaluable
experience for me.”

She’s not alone. The program, which began in 1989, trains 80 to 100
nurse aides each year, according to Terry Shanks, RN, supervisor of nurse
aide education for Valley Health System. “A nurse aide provides
help with activities of daily living—such as grooming, bathing,
dressing, and feeding—for a wide range of people from infants to
the elderly and disabled,” she says. “Completing a training
program, like the one at Valley Health, that meets state requirements,
and passing a state certification exam opens doors to employment opportunities
in hospitals, long-term care centers and beyond. Nurse aides are in demand.”

In accordance with the Virginia Board of Nursing requirements, the program
includes a minimum of 80 hours of classroom training plus 40 hours of
hands-on clinical experience in a long-term care facility (in this case,
Warren Memorial Hospital’s Lynn Care Center). Training is in-depth
and high quality. Classes include a virtual dementia tour, and training
and awareness about the special health and care needs of aging and bariatric patients.

After successfully completing the course, graduates can take the Virginia
State Certification Exam. “Our pass rate on the state exam is above
the state average,” says nurse aide educator Penny Whitacre, BSN.
“One recent class had a 100 percent pass rate.”

Nurse aide training is a smart stepping stone to other health careers.
“We have CNAs whose ultimate goal is to become a nurse, physician
assistant, or physical or respiratory therapist to name just a few,”
Shanks notes. “Penny and I both started out as nurse aides. It’s
a great foundation.”

No wonder, then, that the program attracts a wide range of students. “We
have trained women and men from high school students to people in their
60s,” Shanks says. “For some, it’s a second career.
Construction workers, corrections officers, chefs, salesmen, military
veterans, and people entering the workforce for the first time or after
taking time out for family have enrolled in the class. And the program
is culturally diverse, with students from all over the world including
Ghana, India, Russia, and the Philippines. What everyone shares is the
desire to work in a job with caring at its heart.”

Payne says students become like family during trainings. “We helped
each other learn our skills,” she says. “We shaved, washed
feet, and learned how to turn and clean and make beds with people still
in them! The instructors were dedicated to their profession and to us
as they taught us how to take care of people.” Many stay in touch
with Shanks and Whitacre. “Graduates call and visit almost every
day,” Shanks says. “They bring their kids, ask questions about
jobs—one graduate even brought us a homemade lunch recently. The
caring never stops.”

The program is offered six to eight times each year, with a variety of
scheduling choices, and accepts 20 students for most sessions. “Throughout
the year we’ll usually have evening classes, daytime classes, a
summer ‘boot camp,’ and even an intensive, one-day-a-week
program that’s convenient for people who have to arrange child care
or who work full time,” Shanks says. “We try to make it work
for everyone.”

Upcoming sessions include evening classes Mondays through Thursdays from
4 to 8:30 pm from Oct. 10 to Dec. 12 (for this session, preadmission testing
will be held Sept. 1 and registration is Sept. 15). Daytime classes are
planned for early 2018, meeting Monday through Thursday in January and
February, with preadmission testing Dec. 13, registration Dec. 20 and
orientation Dec. 28.